Sharp County record., 1887-03-24
IALNAGE'S SERMON.
a Discourse to New Members at
the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
The Precious Memories Revived b. sdcra-
mental Day--The Days When the
Righteous Shall Neither Hun
ger Nor Thirst More.

discourse on a recent Sabbath especially
addressed TO new members Of the church,
I using the following texts 70 introduce MS
theme:
And four thousand praised he Lord-L
! Chronicles, xiii, ).
This day shall be unto yol fol memorial
/ Exodus. Iii. Il
He said: When. week before last, the
! commitment membership Of this cAurcn
| passed into the 40pl now reaching 4,U5l,
! the first part Of NY text came tony mind,
and l bethoughc myself what a grand
thing it would be if the 400 Of our COM
municant membership wouli, liA9 the
! 400 Of the ancient temple, make it their
/ lifetime business TO praise the Lord. Lei
! them all take harp and timDrel and an
| them and iOxology.
/ The allusion Of nv second text is 10 the
/ Passover. which cOmmemoraled the de-
/ uvera1ce Of the children Of Is rae- on the
night when the destroying angel sped
through the land Of Egypt, destroying the
! enemy. but saving the lsraelltes, because
/ on the door-posts OF their dwellings was
! sprinkled the blood OF lamb. To-day we
| come TO celebrate graniec Passover, al
( peril going away from our soul al the
! sight Of the sprlnklei blood Of the Lamb
| OF God on the dOor-posts OF our hearts.
| Christ our Passover, sacrificed for US,
/ This day shall be unto yo1 for memorial
! The Sacramental Sabbath, whether II
/ comes in an American church or an
! English chanel. or a Scotch kirk. IS more
/ impressive than any other Sabbath. It's
/ light is holier. calmer, sweeter; It's voices
more tender; its touch IS softer;
! its memories are more chastened.
/ The fruits Of the Christian life suddenly
/ ripen, like orchards on the hill fronting
/ the South. The wine of the Holy Sacra-
ment seems pressed from the grapes Of
| celestial VINEYARDS, and the Tread broken
! seems TO drop from the hand Of him who
! parted the loaves for the 5000 We walk
/ 70 the Church of God with more thought
full face and with quieter step. The luoi-
! liant songs Of other Sundays are struck
| through with penslveness, and are all
! a tremble with tears; and when. al the
| close Of the service. al the door we shake
| hands, it is with a more cordial grasp,
! because We feel thrilling through our
| BODY and mind and soul the great
doctrines Of Christian brother
/ hood; and our minds 90 back
| to our forefdthers celebrating
! the sacrament in times OF per secution in
| Scotland among the Highlands; cOmmem-
Grating the dvlng love Of Christ while
/ they were pursued Of their enemies, pour
/ ing the wine into rough wooden cups, dip
ping the waters Of baptism from the
/ mountain rock. until one day they heard
/ the voices Of their enemies coming up the
| hill. and the pastor cried out:
.Oh. Lord, the Shepherd, have mercy on
| the sheep!"
! And instantly there was q roaring heard
! as Of great foods, and sure enough a
/ cloud had burst and there were great tor
/ rents running down the mountain side
| that whelmed their foes with sudden
wrath. What a deliverance it was for
t.fhen On TIT sac-arnental dog Oh, that
( On this sacramental day the cloud
| Of Gods mercy might burst and our
| sins be whelmed and our souls be saved.
This is the amethyst Of days. This is the
pearl Of days. This is the diamond Of
days. This is the day Of days. Among
| the ten thousand million ages Of eternity
the first Sabbath Of March, 1851, will be to
you significant and memorable, for this
day shall be unto you" forever aud for
! ever "a memorial"
There is much in the scene Of to-day to
impress US, because it is time Of rein
forcement. l used to remark that if I ever
lived to see our mem bership reach 4,0)0
thought would be willing to say With one
Of OLD:
Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart
in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
But Ihave changed NY mind, and never
so much wanted to stay as now, so as to
see them all enlisted for God and 10 watch
their victories. What might they not ac-
complish in the way Of making the world
better if they were all baptized with a
portion Of the Holy Ghost! -Four thou
sand! That is four full regiments, as
military men count a thousand to a regi-
ment Think not one hypocrite amongst
them. Taken into the church sometimes
in large numbers, but each one as care
fully examined as TO change Of heart and
evidence Of regenerati on as though he or
she were the only one presenting himself
or herself Many Of our former members
have passed away into the skies, and
have Joined the Church trump hant but
we have 400 and more left for the
church militant.
To arms! Quityou like men! We want
no reserve corps among them. Go into
action all Of you. Some will be officers
and command Some will make cavalry
charge. Some will be sharp-shOOters.
Some will stand guard. Some will be on
picket duty. Many Of you will belong to the
rank and file. Let there be no stragglers,
none of on furlOugh, not one deserter.
With Christ for commander-in-c chief, and
the e-starred, blood-striped banner Of
manger and cross lead the way, give the
order that the General in the war gave
when rising in his stirruDs, mis- hair flying
in the wind, he cried out till all the host
heard him:
Forward the whole liner
There is also something in such a scene
to deeply impress one, because it re-
hearses a death scene. Now, you know.
there is something very touching in such
an incident. Though you are in hotel
and it is a stranger that is dying. how
softly you move about the place; and if
YOU come up 10 his couch il is with uncov-
cred head Even the voice Of the Jester
Is stopped, and when the eyes Of that
stranger are closed it is with emotion.
But | am to tell you, this morning. Of
death such as has never before or since
occurred. When we die we die for our
selves, and the crisis is alIeviated by all
benefcent ministries. Bathiugs for the
hands. bathings for the head, bathings for
/